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Lesson Nineteen
The Assumption
of Form by Our Deeds
In the past it was believed by specialists
in the empirical sciences that an insurmountable barrier existed between
matter and energy. Further scientific research discredited this belief
so that a new theory entered scientific discourse, one to the effect that
matter might be transformed into energy. The transformation of matter is
accepted today as an incontrovertible truth. However, empirical science
does not propound the reverse of this the transformation of energy into
matter.
Since the transformation of matter into energy has now been accepted, it
is entirely conceivable that future scientific progress may come to prove
the transformation of energy into matter by means of a similar process.
There is indeed no proof that energy once scattered cannot be accumulated
anew and take on corporeal form.
Every motion and act undertaken by man counts as a good or a bad deed,
and at the same time it represents a kind of deposit in the body that is
expended in the form of energy. The acts and even the speech in which a
person engages are, therefore, differing forms or manifestations of energy,
either auditory or mechanical energy, or, in some cases, a mixture of the
two.
The fuel our bodies consume is derived, for example, from foodstuffs, and
energy is released from the compounding of these foodstuffs with oxygen.
This energy in turn is transformed into various kinds of motion and activity,
ranging all the way from gentle speech to strenuous physical exertion.
The stability of our mental reminiscences, of our awareness of the forms
which lie within the range of our knowledge, is itself an indication of
the permanence of our deeds. These forms sometimes lie hidden in our minds
for lengthy periods, but they can be brought forth at any moment and exercise
various effects upon us, both physical and psychological.
Among the effects that may be caused by the emergence of memories are happiness
and joy, sorrow and grief, the palpitation of the heart, the blushing or
paling of the face, and the occurrence of disequilibrium in the glandular
secretions.
It can therefore be said that our actions and words, dissolved in the atmosphere
in the form of energy, are not annihilated, and that whatever we do in
the course of our lifetimes is stored up in the archive of nature, an archive
which the powerful hand of God has established and the permanence of which
He has assured. The day will come on which nature will return to its true
Owner all the trusts that have been deposited in it, and all the energies
that have been accumulated in it will display themselves.
Why should the energies that have been expended for the sake of good and
virtue, or evil and corruption, not take on a certain compressed form that
then assumes an appropriate corporeal form on the day of resurrection?
Those forms would be, respectively, unending bliss and delight and unbounded
pain and torment.
We have accepted the burden of accountability and we will see the inevitable
result of the way in which we have compounded our beings, in terms of both
actions and thoughts, for our deeds will themselves rise up to requite
us.
It can even be said that the very pattern of creation imposes certain effects
on our acts and behavior without asking for our permission and without
our even being aware of it, the result being that they grow and develop
in ways we cannot suspect under our current circumstances.
With the passage of time a small seed is transformed into a great, strong
tree. Similarly, various factors set to work on sperms and bring forth
from them various creatures, great and small, that possess an astonishing
variety.
When an alcoholic is under the effect of alcohol throughout his life he
will exert a direct, undesirable long-lasting effect on his offspring.
Do not these cases furnish an analogy for the confrontation of man with
the consequences of his deeds whether punishment or reward in the hereafter?
Is it not conceivable that an act of brief duration should earn man eternal
misery or eternal happiness?
Although it is difficult for us at present to grasp this matter completely,
the continuous advances being made by science may help us to understand
it to a certain degree.
Experts are now able to capture and record sounds from the past. Since
all living beings emit a certain kind of radiation, and motion results
in the creation of waves, it has become possible to measure and record
the waves that are audible from centuries old pottery; it is as if the
sounds made by the potter can be heard anew after several centuries. It
is also possible to photograph the imprint left by the fingers of thieves
at the scene of a crime, thanks to the heat of their bodies.
If all this is possible in this world, why should something similar not
be possible for all our deeds in the hereafter?
The great observatories of the world can today record waves emitted by
distant galaxies, thanks to the complex receivers with which they are equipped;
this permits them to uncover many mysteries and secrets.
Together with the other evidence we have adduced, this permits us to suggest
that from a scientific point of view the transformation of energy into
matter and, therefore, the assumption of material form by our deeds does
represent a tenable hypothesis.
The Non-Existence of Time
Furthermore, time is relative, being the result of the motion of the earth
and the sun. If, for example, we were to travel to a certain planet, the
events that take place on earth would reach the planet after the passage
of a number of years determined by the distance of the planet from the
earth. We would then be able to observe precisely our deeds and those of
others after the passage of many years.
Similarly, certain stars that emit light and are visible to us today in
fact dissolved and disappeared several centuries ago. Nothing of them remains
and yet, on account of the distance that separates them from the earth,
their light still reaches us on account of the distance between them and
the earth.
Man's sensory powers can grasp only the surface aspect of things and are
unable to grasp their inner aspects. He is therefore unaware, while in
this world, of the deeds that he performs here and of the beneficial or
harmful effects they will have in the hereafter. In the next life, however,
whatever is hidden will become manifest, and once the book of their deeds
is laid open before them, all people will see clearly the pattern their
conduct has followed.
The Qur'an, that book imbued with ultimate truth, describes the events
that shall occur on the day of resurrection as follows:
That which was previously concealed from them shall become apparent
(6:28).
The criminals who are bound in the fetters of their own lusts and desires
will attempt to gain a measure of false tranquillity by hiding from themselves
whatever is likely to harm them and burying the awareness of it deep within
their beings. But the truth that they attempt to conceal will come forth
to confront them.
The Qur'an says:
We have made the good and evil deeds of every individual to be
a ring around his neck. On the day of resurrection We shall display the
record of his deeds, and the record shall be so clear that he will be able
to read all its pages at once. A summons will come to him, Read yourself
your own record of deeds, for it is enough that you yourself assess and
measure your deeds' (17:13-14).
Another verse reads:
On that day man shall become aware of all the deeds, good and
evil, he has committed through out his life (75:13).
Someone once asked Imam al-Sadiq, upon whom be peace,
Does man know what he will see in his record of deeds?
The Imam replied: God Almighty will remind him of them, so that there
will be no closing of an eye, no taking of a step, no uttering a word,
that he will not remember; it will be as if he had done all that the moment
before. (Tafsir al-Ayyashi, Vol. II, p. 284)
From this tradition it can be deduced that the nature of the record and
of its reading will be utterly different from that of a book and its reading
in this world; it will be something akin to a powerful and instant reminder.
It should also be kept in mind that the recording and registering of deeds
will include both the acts that man has engaged in directly and the results
and consequences of those deeds; it is the combination of all this that
will be subjected to assessment and accounting. Thus the Qur'an says:
We shall restore life to the dead, and We record both the deeds
that occurred in the past and the effects to which they gave rise
(36:12).
When in those critical moments the criminals look back at the corridors
of time in which they committed their deeds they will exclaim in astonishment:
Woe Upon us! What kind of a book is this that records and enumerates
with precision all of our deeds, great and small? The verse then
proceeds: They shall see all of their deeds, present before them,
and God shall not wrong anyone (18:49).
On the day that God raises up all men for the accounting to make
them aware of the results of all the deeds He has recorded and they have
forgotten; indeed God is a Witness to all creatures in the world
(58:6).
Corrupt friends and evil companions are at the source of much of the misguidance
to which man is subject, in the realms of belief, action and morality.
When therefore man recognizes on the plain of resurrection those who are
the cause of his misfortune, regret will engulf him and he will exclaim,
according to the Qur'an:
Woe upon me! Would that I had not chosen such-and-such a one as
my friend, for his companionship prevented me from following God's path
and led me astray (25:28-29).
This belated attempt at dissociation does not in any way exempt him from
responsibility for the sins he has consciously committed throughout his
life.
The Qur'an depicts for us a wrongdoer who bites his hands in regret:
On that day the wrongdoer shall bite the back of his hand in regret
and say: Would that I had followed the path of obedience in the world,
in the company of God's Messenger.' (25:27)
Indeed the friendship of Satan earns man perdition and misguidance.
(25:29)
They will blame Satan in order to justify themselves, but he will answer
them as follows:
God made a true promise to you, but my promise was false. My only
power over you consisted in summoning you to evil. You accepted my summons,
so blame yourselves, not me. (14:22)
It is natural that regret should be the lot of those wretches who are destined
for hellfire. However, even the people of paradise are filled with sorrow
when they look at the infinitely higher stations occupied by those who
have drawn nigh to God; they ask themselves why they did not exert themselves
more strenuously during their brief sojourn in this world, thus earning
a higher station than that which they occupy.
The Most Noble Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him and his family,
said:
There is no creature that will not be overtaken by remorse and regret
on the day of resurrection, but regret will be of no avail. When the blessed
look upon paradise and the infinite bounties that God has prepared for
the pure and the Godfearing, they will regret not having performed righteous
deeds equal to theirs. As for the wretched, the people of hellfire, they
will groan and lament when they see the fire and hear its roar, and they
will regret not having atoned for their sins while still in the world.
(Li'ali al-Akhbar, p. 469)
Two Unequal Scenes
The true worth of everything can best be appreciated by measuring it against
its opposite.
The Qur'an therefore juxtaposes the grateful joy of the people of paradise
with regret of the people of hell, a regret to which is joined the impossible
wish to return to the world in order to make amends. These two utterly
distinct and unequal states are depicted as follows in the Qur'an:
They will reside in gardens of eternity; they will be adorned
with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments shall be of silk.
They will say: Praise be to God who has removed all sorrow from us: in
truth our Creator is merciful and just in dispensing reward. Out of His
bounty He has settled us in an eternal abode of bliss; no toil or weariness
shall touch us therein.' The abode of the unbelievers shall be hellfire
there neither shall they die, nor shall their penalty be lightened; thus
do We punish the unbelievers! They shall cry out, O Lord bring us forth
from here so that we make work righteousness, not that which we used to
do.' They will be answered: Did We not give you enough life to receive
admonition as others did? Did not one come to warn you? Now taste your
punishment, for there is none to aid the wrongdoers.' (35:33-7)
First these verses depict the tranquil and stable abode of paradise, overflowing
with blessings of both material and spiritual nature. There the Godfearing
shall enjoy both the satisfaction of their material desires and spiritual
peace and tranquillity. The dwellers in paradise will therefore offer thanks
to God for having been guided to eternal bliss and rewarded for their deeds
of righteousness. They will regard the vast realm of paradise from which
all trouble and pain are absent as the result of God's generosity and favor,
for they do not consider themselves worthy of it.
When we look in the other direction, we see anxiety and the terror of impending
punishment engulfing the sinners. They kneel down in their misery and shame
and begin to give voice to their regret in tones of despair. They wish
to emerge from their fearful state in order to go back and atone for the
corrupt deeds they have done.
None of this avails them, for their brief life is past and now the terrifying
fire of hell burns them each second. They are not permitted to die, nor
is their punishment lightened.
In short, the two contrasting scenes are of joy and tranquillity on the
one hand, and misery, torment, and fruitless remorse on the other.
Qays b. Asim relates: I once set out from afar with a group of companions
to visit Medina. We came into the presence of the Most Noble Messenger,
peace and blessings be upon him and his family, and I asked him to bestow
some counsel upon us. I said: 'Since we are desert dwellers and only rarely
come into the city, we wish to make use of this opportunity and benefit
from your eloquent words.'
The Prophet replied: 'Pride is followed by humiliation, life is followed
by death, this world is followed by the hereafter. Everything that exists
is without doubt subject to an accounting, and there is one who watches
over all things. There is a reward for every good deed and a punishment
for every evil deed. There is a set period for everything.
O Qays, you have a friend and companion who one day will be buried
with you. When you are buried, he will still be alive although you are
dead. If your companion is noble and a man of honor, he will honor you,
and if he is lowly and vile, he will torment and trouble you. He will be
resurrected together with you, and you will be resurrected together with
him. No questions will be put to you; they will all be directed to him.
Choose, then a worthy and righteous companion, for if your companion is
righteous he will comfort you, but if he be wicked, you will wish to flee
him in terror. That everlasting companion and friend is none other than
your deeds.' (al-Amali al-Saduq, p. 3)
Every wrongdoer shall be resurrected with the inward countenance that he
has fashioned for himself. The Qur'an says: The wrongdoers shall
be recognized by their countenances (55:4).
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said:
The two-faced hypocrite shall be resurrected with two tongues. One
tongue will be at the back of his head, and the other in front. Flames
shall dart forth from both of his tongues, engulfing his body. Then it
will be said concerning him: This is the man who confronted people in
world with two faces and spoke with two tongues.' (Iqab al-Amal,
p. 319)
